Although developing a personal relationship with your bankers is without a doubt beneficial, it’s just not possible in the modern age. Most banks have moved away from having lots of high street branches with well staffed counters. Instead, they now use call centres, increasingly located in the Asian subcontinent to make them cheaper to operate.
The days of being able to develop a personal relationship are largely over. You can be insistent and still conduct your banking affairs in person at your nearest branch, but this increasingly being discouraged by the bank and also, is now less convenient than banking from home either by phone or on the internet.
In the past, a personal relationship with your bankers was vital, now you will just be regarded as a number and have to take your chances with the one-size-fits-all approach being meted out to customers worldwide.
If you are a business customer, your situation is no better. You are seen as a means of the bank making money – pure and simple. The days when the Bank Manager made an informed decision on whether to back your business financially and share the risk with you for his share of the profits, is long gone. Banks believe that business should be conducted in a risk free environment – for them at least. As soon as the going gets tough, you won’t see them for dust.